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Indian-American Neel Kashkari will head up the new bailout office in the US Treasury department, say news reports. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is promoting Neel Kashkari, who is currently Treasury’s assistant secretary for international affairs, as the point man overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout. He was earlier a Vice President with Goldman Sachs.

Kashkari’s new title is interim assistant secretary for financial stability, says a report in MarketWatch. Kashkari received both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Engineering (specialised in aerospace engineering) from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He also received an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Kashkari was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development on July 9, 2008. He joined the Treasury Department in July 2006 as Senior Advisor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. In that role, he was responsible for developing the President’s Twenty in Ten energy security plan, enhancing Treasury’s engagement with India, particularly in the area of infrastructure development, and developing and executing the Department’s response to the housing crisis, including the formation of the HOPE NOW Alliance, the development of the subprime fast-track loan modification plan, and Treasury’s initiative to kick-start a covered bond market in the United States.

Prior to joining the Treasury Department, Kashkari was a Vice President at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in San Francisco, where he led Goldman’s IT Security Investment Banking practice, advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions and financial transactions.

Prior to his career in finance, Kashkari was a R&D Principal Investigator at TRW in Redondo Beach, California where he developed technology for NASA space science missions such as the James Webb Space Telescope.

Originally from Stow, Ohio, Kashkari graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Engineering. He also received an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School.